


Misery Loves Company

by Red_Lenses



Series: When The Storm Breaks [3]
Category: Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 07:31:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11308656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Lenses/pseuds/Red_Lenses
Summary: A lonely kleptomaniac happens to steal from someone who has been mocked too many times before.





	Misery Loves Company

Sooner or later everything within the castle that was not nailed down would end up in Copy Robot’s hands. The disappearances were a simple fact of life for the other inhabitants, who had long ago given up on confronting the mimic to demand the return of their belongings. It was commonly known that if they simply ignored the theft, everything would eventually reappear. Most of the time the owners didn’t even notice that something was gone until they found it sitting on a table or crammed into a storage closet.

The fact that no one ever actually _saw_ Copy committing the act was never spoken of. In fact, it was hard to tell if anyone had ever actually noticed that fact. Many Robot Masters preferred to keep to their own generations, even if a few had formed friendships with someone of an earlier or later line. Copy on the other hand had no one. He was not even a true Robot Master himself; just a relic of Wily’s first takeover attempt that he had kept out of pride at his own brilliance. By the time the doctor had deemed the mimic a failure he had already established a home for himself in the lower basement, and from then on he simply followed each time the other residents relocated to build a new fortress.

One may have thought that Copy stayed out of loyalty to his creator. In truth, it was because he didn’t know where else to go. Some of the later generations of Robot Masters had never even seen him. His early attempts at forming friendships had been rebuffed so aggressively that he had quickly taken to staying by himself, down in the deepest regions of the fortress where no one else bothered to go. It had been years since he ventured out without taking on the appearance of one of his ‘brothers’. At least then he was spared the harsh treatment they had always seemed to reserve for him.

The deepest basement level of the castle consisted mainly of a maze of steel beams and piping. Only one who took the time to crawl and wriggle through some of the narrower gaps would find the spot where Copy had amassed his collection. There was little order to the mess of stolen treasures scattered over the floor, some of them in piles, others simply sitting where they had been dropped. A single yellow boomerang was half-buried beneath a small pile of chess pieces. Empty E-Tanks were scattered over various papers, a few of which now carried dark blotches which obscured some of their contents. And in the very centre of the space was a small nest of pillows, upon which rested the thief’s newest prize; a single discarded boot which ended in a flipper.

Copy had returned from his latest hunt barely minutes before. He had quickly shed the stolen form he had taken on to safely roam the hallways - Clown Man this time - and returned to his default shape, which was not too different than the famous Blue Bomber. It was the first shape he had ever copied and he still held an attachment to it, despite all that the original had done to his home and family. At least it ensured that no one else who resided in the fortress looked like him. That was something of which he could be pleased.

The sound of shuffling footsteps reached Copy as he lounged on the floor, sipping from a freshly-opened E-Tank as he sorted through the pack of playing cards he had managed to swipe. Instantly he froze in place, eyes fixed upon the location from which the noise had come. There should not be anyone down here aside from himself. All he ever heard down here was the gurgling of water in the pipes. Unless something was broken… Yes, surely that was it. Someone had just been sent down to fix a damaged pipe or check for faults. It was the only answer Copy could think of and he used it to reassure himself as he slowly began to sit up.

The shuffling continued. There was a huff and the scrape of metal on metal as the intruder attempted to force their way through a tight space. Copy gathered up his cards in silence and replaced them within their box, which he slid out of sight beneath one of his pillows. At any moment the steps would fall silent and he would hear someone checking the pipes. No one could possibly have come here because of-

“Copy Robot!”

The sound of his own name made him jump so badly his foot collided with a stack of stolen objects. The resulting clatter seemed to only encourage the one causing the footsteps, which now came faster. The intruder was close and Copy had no idea of what to do other than sit there waiting, his entire body tense in anticipation.

Just as he was mentally preparing himself for a fight, a sudden clunk brought the footsteps to a halt. It was followed almost instantly by a cacophony of loud rattling and muffled curses which lured the mimic to the edge of his tiny space, gazing curiously between the pipes to see just what was going on. He was greeted with the sight of one of his older brothers wedged awkwardly in a tight gap and fighting to free himself. In the darkness it took a moment to recognize him as Bubble Man, the very robot from whom Copy had stolen the unattended boot not long before.

The aquatic Robot Master’s struggles ceased as he spotted the shine of backlit optics in the dim basement. “You! You stole my boot, didn’t you? Give it back right this minute!”

Normally Copy would never have dared taunt one of his brothers, but the sight of Bubble trapped within a gap he could easily slip through himself made it hard to resist. A mischievous grin crept across his lips before he responded, “You want it? Come get it.” He ducked behind the pipes immediately, narrowly dodging the shot that flew over his head a millisecond later and pinged harmlessly off a beam.

Copy’s laugh echoed around the maze-like basement. “What’s the matter? Butt too big to fit through?”

“Go ahead and laugh!” The frustrated exclamation burst out of Bubble before he could stop it. He bit his lip behind his mask before deciding to go ahead and vent. Being stuck here only feet away from the little thief was just the last straw in a miserable week. “Let me guess, you’re gonna make fun of my walk next? Oh haha, look at the bumbling idiot whose legs don’t even work right out of the water! Look at him stumble and hop around! Does it make you feel better about yourself to laugh at me? Does it?!”

His last bellowed words echoed as he lapsed into silence, breathing heavily to keep himself ventilated in his fury. Copy’s laughter had fallen silent now, which only served to enrage Bubble even more. “Go ahead, hide from me! Pretend you weren’t just talking about me! I’m not deaf! I can hear it when they make jokes right behind me! They don’t even wait until I get all the way out of the room before they start! I’ve even caught them waddling around like me, making the others laugh like I’m just one big joke to them all! You’re no different from them, are you? You’re just another bully! Well, I’m sick of it all!”

The aquatic bot planted both hands firmly on the beam beneath him and pushed, straining to drag himself through the gap. As he did the sound of shuffling reached him from Copy’s hiding spot. A moment later he saw his boot appear, pushed out through the gap by a blue-gauntleted hand. The rest of Copy’s body soon followed and Bubble fell still as the smaller robot slowly approached, holding the boot out like a peace offering.

The two of them were silent as Copy set down the footwear within Bubble’s reach. Only then did the mimic speak again in a hushed tone. “… I miss the days when you all used to come down and get your stuff back from me. I keep taking it ‘cause it’s nice to have visitors. It’s nice to… to have someone acknowledge that you exist. And that you’re good at something, even if it _is_ just stealing. But no one comes any more. Just you.”

He retreated a step, hands clasped together awkwardly behind his back. Bubble was still fumbling for something to say when Copy cut him off. “I’m sorry for laughing. And I’m sorry the others are mean to you too. Can we… can we make a bet? We can play cards.” From behind his back he produced the pack of cards he had been examining earlier. There was a hopeful gleam in his eyes as he continued, “If I win you’ve gotta come and hang out with me sometime. If you win… I’ll leave you alone.”

Bubble’s brow furrowed behind his mask as he stared at Copy, trying to figure out if his words were genuine. “No,” he stated, and had just enough time to see the mimic’s shoulders slump before he added, “if you win I’ll hang out with you here, but if I win we go out swimming. But first you need to help me get out of here. Deal?”

Shock and disbelief flashed across Copy’s expression before his face lit up with an eager grin. “Deal!” The box of cards fell at his feet as he braced both hands against Bubble’s shoulders. “On three, right? One, two… three!” He threw his weight forward at the same time as the Robot Master pulled back. With a great screech and groan of metal Bubble came free, staggering back for a moment before he managed to regain his balance.

Copy wasted no time in scrambling through the gap after him, boot in one hand and cards in the other. “Can I ask for one more thing?”

“What is it?” Bubble questioned warily even as he pulled on his returned boot.

“Could you teach me how to play cards? I kinda don’t know how.”

This time it was Bubble’s turn to grin as the two seated themselves on the floor. “No problem.”


End file.
